Has it been two years and six months? It’s funny how slow two years are when looking forward, yet too quick when looking back. It’s been two years and six months since I joined Cambridge University and Press and Assessment. But what brought my mind into thinking about these things happened a few days ago.
I had an interview with an applicant and like what I usually try to do, I shared the organization’s mission: to unlock people’s potential. I followed it up by asking her how she sees her full potential and I did get a satisfying answer.
With the two and a half years I’ve been in Cambridge, I would hear and see our mission in a different context: in meetings, one-on-one conversations, and articles. And as I said, I also bring it up when doing interviews and discussions. Some would say that it’s cheesy or straightforward.
Yet, I believe it. In my heart of hearts, I believe in unlocking people’s potentials.
But what does unlocking one’s potential actually mean?
- It means not being defined by our roles and labels. If we limit ourselves to what we are supposed to do, we do not welcome growth and invite the unexpected. Being role-agnostic allows us to experiment and explore, and we might surprise ourselves with what we can do.
- It means looking at the totality of who we are. Often, we subconsciously compartmentalize our lives. For example, what we show in our work may differ from what we offer in our homes. But unlocking one’s potential means embracing that beneath all that is us – a bright and sometimes scared soul with the will to work on these different things.
- It means having the mindset of abundance. That wherever we are now, whoever we may be, there is a brighter place for us that we can get to. There is an opportunity for us to transform. We are limited by what our minds can imagine.
- It means that we are connected not just with our deepest desires but with our higher selves. We acknowledge that we are a part of a greater unit outside of who we are.
This is what it means to reach our full potential.
This is also the reason why I keep my faith in people. If we all have the chance of being a better person, then doubt will only bring others down. What we need are people who believe in us.
We owe ourselves to pursue our full potential to our utmost strength and passion and strive to be the best version that we can be. To unlock one’s potentials means to find our purpose. And when we live our life with purpose, we make the most out of our gifts, fulfill our mission, and maybe, we make the world just a bit better.